keyboard spacebar and esc button button not workin

[Cutehumor]

My 6 yr old sony vaio keyboard that came with my sony vaio space bar and escape button is not working. My wife frequently eats her meals over this thing. I occasionally have to shake all the crumbs out of it. is this thing salvageable? a few weeks ago, the spacebar was hard to push, but then it got easier, after I shook the beejezus out of it. now when you push it, nothing. same thing with the escape button. I see that there are plenty of screws on the back of it and I'm about to take it apart. I'm using a ten year old sony vaio keyboard in it's place. As you can tell, I like to hoard things..

 

[StevieC]

Put it in the dishwasher and select the "Sanitize" option!

 

[SrDriver]

I use an old IBM 42H1292 keyboard made in the United Kingdom in Greenock Scotland. The keys make a clicking sound when you press them. Have it for countless years and love it. Haven't seen one like it in many years.

 

[Cutehumor]

 Originally Posted By: SrDriver

I use an old IBM 42H1292 keyboard made in the United Kingdom in Greenock Scotland. The keys make a clicking sound when you press them. Have it for countless years and love it. Haven't seen one like it in many years.

I think I know what your talking about. I had an old IBM keyboard from 1996 that made the same clicking noise and was working just fine when I recycled it with my IBM aptiva last year. I used that keyboard like a maniac. tons of research papers typed on that old IBM keyboard when I was in college. I should have kept it. only reason why I recycled it was because I never had a problem with a keyboard before. blush:

 

[Cutehumor]

 Originally Posted By: StevieC

Put it in the dishwasher and select the "Sanitize" option!

I thought of it. They make keyboards that are "dishwasher safe" but what do I have left to loose?

 

[XS650]

 Originally Posted By: Cutehumor

 Originally Posted By: StevieC

Put it in the dishwasher and select the "Sanitize" option!

I thought of it. They make keyboards that are "dishwasher safe" but what do I have left to loose?

Try splitting the top and bottom apart. Last time I had a keyboard that got too disgusting for me, I took it apart. All the electronics stayed with the bottom 1/2 and were easy to wipe down. All the keys and 90% of the grunge stayed with the top 1/2 and went through the dishwasher without a problem. It worked and looked like new after that.

 

[simple_gifts]

OT:Here is one for the old keyboard lovers. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100076874

 

[Mr Nice]

Probably lots of cookie crumbs thats causing your problems.

 

[Cutehumor]

I went ahead and took the keyboard apart in the name of science. I even pushed the space bar pink button without the keyboard top. it still didn't work. I see that there is a black mark on the sheath of this keyboard around the pink space bar button. It looks like the space bar short circuited. Dishwashing isn't going to help this one.

 

[StevieC]

Maybe the keyboard short circuited because it needed it's space!

 

[XS650]

 Originally Posted By: StevieC

Maybe the keyboard short circuited because it needed it's space!

Groan

 

[Vilan]

A few minutes spent with some Q-tips and rubbing alcohol can get keys unstuck. Is there anything grungy plugging up the space button?